


Blossom by Blossom

by Caledonia



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, First Kiss, M/M, Spring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-19 06:37:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22006729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caledonia/pseuds/Caledonia
Summary: Merlin builds floral crowns in advance of the spring celebrations, and there is a secret hidden in Arthur's."Blossom by blossom the spring begins." Algernon Charles Swinburne
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 38
Kudos: 389
Collections: The Merlin/Arthur Kiss Fest 2019





	Blossom by Blossom

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for this fest. Thank you to all the other creators contributing works. This is my own meager offering, though hopefully the first of many.

"Where's Merlin?"

"I am not sure, Sire. Did you not give him the day off?" Gaius asked, distracted as usual by some tincture or medicine. Arthur sighed heavily.

"I did, but I need him, now. Do you have any idea where he might be? The tavern, perhaps?"

"Lady Morgana and Guinevere collected him this morning, but that is the last time I saw him."

Morgana? What would Morgana want with Merlin? Arthur bid Gaius farewell and headed to Morgana's chambers.

There was no answer to Arthur's knock, but he could hear laughter from within, and the door was not shut, so he stepped into the room.

Morgana, Gwen, and Merlin were assembling floral garlands for the spring festival, all three of them laughing and smiling, intent on their work.

Upon Merlin's head was a delicate crown of flowers; large, velvety white blossoms shot through with deepest green leaves, and peeking slyly out from the shadows were tiny flowers the exact blue of Merlin's eyes. His glossy black hair refused to be tamed by the crown and shot up in every direction. His eyes were dancing, alight as from within. His face, normally as pale as cream, was flushed a fetching floral pink, and in his concentration, the very tip of his tongue was held firm between his full, red lips. 

Arthur's heart seized in his chest, causing him to suck in an audible breath which thankfully went unnoticed by the room's other occupants. Although Arthur was often entranced by Merlin's fragile beauty, in this moment, with the crown of flowers upon his head, there was something ethereal about him, something almost Fae, and Arthur could not look away.

"Oh, Arthur! Come in, come in," Morgana said, finally noticing his intrusion and reaching her arms out to him in friendly welcome. Arthur could feel the heat in his own cheeks as he entered the room properly, and the colour of Merlin's face went from rose pink to dusky red, his eyes downturned.

"I am sorry for interrupting," Arthur began, but Morgana held up her hand, smiling warmly and beautifully beneath her own crown of purple flowers.

"You are not interrupting at all, Arthur, and your presence here is most welcome. Tell us, what do you think?" Morgana and Gwen both held up one end of a lovely floral garland, and Arthur nodded his approval.

"They are lovely. Are they for the spring celebrations?"

"Of course! Merlin knows where all the best flowers can be found," Morgana continued, giving Arthur an excuse to look at his servant, whose eyes were still trained downwards.

"He also made the crowns," Gwen said, clearly eager to praise her friend. 

"Merlin suits a crown, does he not?" Morgana asked playfully.

"He does. Most certainly," Arthur said, without thinking. Merlin looked up, his blue eyes meeting Arthur's. The red hue had now spread from Merlin's cheeks down his graceful neck and all the way to the tips of his ears. Arthur's heart seized again, and he was unsure whether he had ever seen anything so beautiful.

"He was just finishing yours, I think," Morgana said, reaching across the table and taking the crown out of Merlin's hands and giving it to Arthur. The crown was sturdy, though it was clearly woven only from organic material. The flowers were large and wide-petaled, the same red as Arthur's cloak, and of the flag and crest of Camelot. Arthur brushed a finger lightly over one petal, the texture soft as velvet beneath his touch. In order to avoid looking up, and having the others recognise the no doubt undisguised longing on his face, Arthur turned the crown in his hands, pretending to try to catch the light from a nearby window.

It was deftly hidden amongst the much larger red blooms, and if Arthur hadn't been examining the crown so closely he would never have seen it, but clearly woven into the crown was a single, minuscule blue blossom exactly the colour of Merlin's eyes.

Arthur glanced at his servant for some confirmation, some sign that this had not been a mistake or an oversight, but Merlin was looking quite pointedly in the opposite direction, his face an impossible, deep red.

"Well, Arthur, tell us, do you like it?" Morgana asked, a laugh thinly veiled with words.

"It is perfect," Arthur replied, not looking away from Merlin until Merlin slowly raised his head and their eyes met.

"But you did not come only to admire our handiwork, Arthur, what is it that you require?" Morgana asked. Arthur knew he had been searching for Merlin for a specific reason, but he could not remember what it was. Morgana took his crown of flowers from him and set it carefully upon his head, her green eyes bright.

"Oh, yes," Arthur said, recalled to himself, "I require Merlin's assistance with something if you do not mind me borrowing him for a short time."

"Yes, of course, my lord," Merlin said, nodding his head and obediently coming to Arthur's side. He was wearing his customary blue tunic, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and at the edge of his faded red kerchief the skin of his neck was still flushed.

"Oh, if you must," Morgana said, pouting at Arthur, "Merlin please return to us if you are able, once Arthur has finished with you, for we do so enjoy your company."

"I shall try, my lady," Merlin smiled, nodding to Morgana and Gwen as he followed Arthur from the room.

They must have made an unusual sight as they walked the corridors towards Arthur's chambers, both with flushed faces and floral crowns upon their heads. Arthur did not speak to anyone, though Merlin muttered hurried hellos to those they passed.

Once they were in Arthur's chambers, Merlin shut the door behind them and looked around as though trying to see for what task Arthur required his assistance.

Arthur could only look at him, an arm crossed in front of him, the long, pale fingers of one hand closed around his opposite elbow, blue veins visible beneath the delicate white skin of his inner forearm. Faded blue of a tunic that he had worn nearly to rags, the laces of it loose beneath his crumpled red scarf. The uncertainty in his gait, the open question on his lovely face, his cheekbones sharp beneath beautifully flushed skin. His lips slightly parted, his eyes a clear and brilliant blue. The crown of spring flowers on his head. 

Arthur stepped forward, closing the space between them. He could now hear Merlin's breathing, unnecessarily heavy considering he was standing still.

Arthur stepped forward, close enough now that he could easily reach out and touch Merlin if he dared.

Arthur stepped forward, feeling Merlin's warm breath against his cheek and his neck, watching the dark centre of Merlin's eyes widen as his tongue darted out to moisten his lips.

Arthur could see the blue flowers in Merlin's crown, bold in their beauty, though delicate and unassuming. Their petals the exact shade of Merlin's eyes. They were the same as the single blossom hidden within Arthur's crown, and that was everything, _everything_ Arthur needed to know.

Arthur stepped forward, his body mere inches from Merlin's, their breath mingling in the space between them, their eyes searching each other's faces slowly, slowly. Merlin's eyes lingering on Arthur's own, then on Arthur's lips, his chin, his throat. Arthur watching as Merlin licked his lips again, unable to look away.

"Arthur, I," Merlin said, but Arthur's lips were on him, stopping his words with a kiss that started out breathless and only intensified from there. Merlin angled his head slightly, his lips parting. Arthur moved his hands to cradle Merlin's face, his thumbs brushing Merlin's earlobes and pressing gently at the soft skin at either side of his neck, his fingers burying themselves in Merlin's thick black hair. Merlin's own hands went to Arthur's hips, grasping tentatively as though Merlin had never touched him before. And he hadn't, not like this.

A sound escaped Arthur then that was a mixture of desperate longing and ecstatic joy, his heart beating ever faster as Merlin's tongue and his own danced together, and then Merlin's teeth gently closed over Arthur's bottom lip, and Arthur's knees threatened to give way. He moaned again, his hands fisting in Merlin's hair, holding on for dear life as Merlin pulled away and began to kiss the tender underside of Arthur's jaw.

Arthur tried to gather his thoughts, but it was a worthless pursuit, and his eyes rolled as Merlin's teeth grazed along his jaw. Arthur grasped Merlin's hair gently and he pulled back, Arthur drinking in the sight of him. He was breathing hard, his eyelids heavy. His lips were swollen slightly, redder than Arthur had ever before seen them. The crown of spring flowers upon his head was crooked from where Arthur's own hands had knocked it askew. Arthur reached up and plucked the crown from Merlin's head, then set it gently upon the table beside which they stood. Merlin took Arthur's crown and set it beside his own, the flowers deeply red against the polished wood.

The spring festival was secretly Arthur's favourite, a celebration of survival following what was always a long, harsh winter. The town and castle bedecked with fresh greenery and bright spring flowers. The impossible reality of endless new beginnings.

Looking down at the crown Merlin had made for him, Arthur could not see the small, blue flower but he knew that it was there.

"Morgana is right, you know," Arthur said, kissing first one and then the other corner of Merlin's mouth, "you do suit a crown."


End file.
